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This case study applies the scanning of marketing environment (i.e. typology of marketing environments); strategic marketing planning process, involving SWOT analysis, growth strategies; and marketing mix (four ps).

This is modeled as a qualitative study. Primary data were collected through a phone interview with the key informants, and secondary data came from various publications such as government reports, news portals and company websites.

Ghacem was the first cement manufacturing company in Ghana and had enjoyed a monopoly for almost 33 years. The company offered a homogeneous product to an undifferentiated market from 1967 until competition began in 2000. New competitors promote the use of cement grade numbers on their product packaging to signal a better value, which intensified the competition. As the Head of Marketing of the company, Benny was asked to develop a marketing strategy for the company’s newly developed product for the company to remain competitive.

Undergraduate students taking Principles of Marketing.

This case invites students to assess the impact that Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, might have on a New York–based hedge fund's portfolio and, specifically, its UK assets. The case is designed to prompt students to make market assumptions and investment hypotheses based on a combination of numerical data and qualitative information. It requires no numerical computations; instead, it asks the student to interpret both markets' short-term reactions to the Brexit vote and strategy shifts from UK and European business leaders in order to evaluate longer-term implications for the economies of the United Kingdom, Europe, and the world.

Marketing.

Target audience this decision case has been tried and tested in a classroom setting with final-year undergraduate BBA students and postgraduate students studying an MSc in marketing. The specific course in which this case was used was marketing management in China. This case may also be suitable for an undergraduate or masters level courses in consumer behaviour, distribution management or marketing in China. The case covers environment analysis, market segmentation, consumer behaviour and distribution channels.

Skyworth, a Chinese manufacturer of television sets, was faced with some major decisions. Government subsidies on consumer purchases of household appliances had stimulated demand for TV sets especially in rural areas. However, there were limited distribution channels serving rural areas. Large-scale nationwide chain stores like Gome and Suning served mainly urban areas and top-tier cities. These retailer chains were less interested in selling TV sets as their profit margins were lower. How should Skyworth set up its distribution network to take advantage of the growth in rural markets? Establishing its own channel network would involve huge investments that would affect Skyworth's profits in the next few years. Relying on existing retailer chains may not give it the coverage it wanted. Skyworth's brand reputation had also suffered because of poor product quality and customer support. Can the distribution channel network help to improve its brand reputation and customer loyalty? This case highlights how government policies in China can shape the growth of the household appliance market and change consumption patterns.

By studying this case, students will: 1. Examine how environmental factors affect television manufacturers in China; 2. Understand the buying behaviour of rural households for household appliances; 3. Examine distribution channels in an emerging market; 4. Evaluate a company's product portfolio strategy; and5. Suggest segmentation bases for the market for television sets in China.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Entrepreneurial management.

The case is intended to be used by graduate students of Management and Entrepreneurship in the courses of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurial Management.

One of the first private wineries in Republic of Macedonia, a developing country which entered market economy in the end of 1990s, has successfully been using the advantages of good soil and weather conditions to provide opportunity for excellent wine making. After almost 20 years of blazing a successful entrepreneurial trail built on innovation, strict quality control, brand building and close family hands-on management, the market soon became too small; thus, internationalization was the next logical step. This case provides local and global data on the wine industry, the Mac Wine facts and figures and financial data to help answer the questions about its future management and marketing strategies and the ownership transition.

This case has been documented to help students to understand the concept and applicability of the growth strategy of a new venture in the developing country. The students will understand how this growth was realized by answering the following questions: What are the factors that contributed to the growth of this venture? Evaluate the Mac Wine decision to build a brand based on production of high-quality wines. Is Mac Wine’s marketing strategy adequate? Is the family-owned business more of a strength or a weakness at the time being? And in the future?

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The key learning objectives are mentioned as follows: to understand the attractiveness of the co-living sector using Michael Porter’s five forces model; to do competitive analysis of ZOLO by understanding its objectives, strengths and weaknesses; to understand various competitive strategies which ZOLO’s competitors could apply against it; and to understand application of various defense strategies, which ZOLO would follow to retain its market leader position.

ZoloStays (ZOLO) was an Indian real-tech start-up based in Bengaluru. It was in the business of co-living, i.e. providing affordable accommodation for students and young professionals who had to leave their home and temporarily settle in other cities in search for jobs or education. ZOLO had grown 300% and had served over 50,000 customers across 10 Indian cities, since its inception in 2015. It had claimed to be the largest co-living brand in India in FY 2019. Nikhil Sikri (Sikri), who was a Co-founder of ZOLO, had big plans of expanding the firm to a million beds in 5 years. However, increasing awareness of a huge untapped market in the co-living sector had led to entry of a flurry of competitors. Notable among them were Nestaway, Colive, StayAbode, CoHo and OYO Life. Facing such intense competition Sikri had the challenge to be able to sustain his company’s early momentum. How would he retain ZOLO’s market leadership position? What would be the best strategy to achieve further growth? Should ZOLO diversify into allied services or apply a more focused strategy? Sikri was facing all these challenging questions and had to quickly address them to continue to lead in this competitive race.

The case can be taught in advanced undergraduate, MBA or executive-level programs dealing with marketing. This case study helps students in dealing with issues pertaining to a given market sector where a firm is operating, the strategies that could be used by the competitors and application of competitive strategies which the firm can apply.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

ThoughtWorks, a medium-size IT systems integrator, was growing quickly but identified "lack of clear positioning around which to build a brand" as the biggest impediment to continued growth. The company had identified features that it believed differentiated it from its competitors and was considering alternative segments to target. Asks readers to choose a target and develop a positioning statement for that target as well as identify the assumptions underlying the recommended positioning strategy and suggest how market research could help establish the validity of those assumptions.

The learning outcomes of this case are product innovation, the importance of consumer insights and data in marketing and the role of consumer insights in brand revival.

This case study is a fascinating look into how the shift from music compact disc (CDs) to streaming has completely changed consumer behavior. This change in attitude led many music labels down one of two paths as follows: shutting down the business or embracing new business models. The case study aims to bring out essential learning from a company, Saregama, that was on the verge of shutting down because of the losses incurred with the shift in consumer behavior from buying music CDs to streaming music for free on every smart device. This shift led most record companies to become shuttered. However, not all were as fortunate as Saregama, who threaded its way toward profitability. This case analyzes how Saregama turned from a loss-making business unit into a profit center by launching a breakthrough product backed by innovative thinking and strong consumer research. The researcher opted for secondary research based on reports from Deloitte and McKinsey & Company and other credible sources to understand the music streaming market in India. The study also includes excerpts from the interview of Vikram Mehra (MD of Saregama India Ltd.) to various media houses and customer reviews on e-commerce sites.

The case is relevant for learners studying for an undergraduate or graduate program and for discussions for modules such as marketing management and international marketing with a focus on product development and strategy. Applicability the case will provide the following exposure to the learners: the difference between corporate and marketing objectives; Using frameworks such as valuable, rare, inimitable, and organization and SAP-LAP to understand the rationale behind strategic decisions; An understanding of the importance of listening to consumers; Using the right marketing elements such as segmentation, targeting and positioning and marketing mix for a competitive marketing strategy.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 8 Marketing.

A secondary research method was used to collect data for this case. The authors have made use of newspaper articles and published articles written by journalists and experts, which are available in the public domain.

This case discusses the hurdles faced by Netflix in India. Netflix experienced rapid growth ever since its entry into the Indian over-the-top (OTT) sector. The aggressive pricing strategies by OTT competitors put Netflix in a defensive position in India. Netflix introduced the low-priced mobile-only plan to attract price-sensitive Indian consumers. However, this was not sufficient. Netflix was forced to reduce the price of all its plans in December 2021. The dilemma faced by Reed Hastings (Founder and Co-CEO, Netflix) was whether the revised price was low enough to hold on to existing subscribers and attract new subscribers in India. Netflix was caught between the rock and the hard place in its pursuit to achieve its target of achieving 100 million subscribers from India versus continuing its skimming-pricing strategy. This case highlights the compound challenges of low household income in India and high-income inequality resulting in a lower available market for multinational service providers such as Netflix. The pricing plans and features of OTT competitors in India have also been discussed in sufficient depth to facilitate analysis and classroom discussion by the target audience.

Undergraduate students studying marketing management and basic marketing courses in business management and commerce streams can use this case. This case can also be used for marketing specialization courses at the undergraduate level.

Set in September 1992, this exercise provides teams of students the opportunity to negotiate terms of a merger between AT&T and McCaw Cellular. AT&T, one of the largest U.S. corporations, was the dominant competitor in long-distance telephone communications in the United States. McCaw was the largest competitor in the rapidly growing cellular-telephone communications industry. Prior to the negotiations, AT&T had no position in cellular communications. This case and its companion (F-1143) are designed to allow students to be assigned roles to play. The case may pursue some or all of the following teaching objectives: exercising valuation skills, practicing strategic analysis, exercising bargaining skills, and illustrating practical aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

This case covers the scandal that occurred in 2008 at Société Générale when one trader, Jérôme Kerviel, lost the prominent French bank nearly €5 billion through his unauthorized trading. The case describes Kerviel’s schemes as well as SocGen’s internal monitoring and reporting processes, organizational structures, and culture so that students reading the case can identify and discuss the shortcomings of the firm’s risk management practices. The case and epilogue also describe the French government’s and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde’s reactions to the scandal (e.g., imposition of a €4 million fine and increased regulations), prompting students to consider the role of government in overseeing that healthy risk management practices are followed in key industries (such as banking) that are highly entwined with entire economies. Finally, the case encourages students—during class discussion—to critically consider whether it is truly possible for one rogue trader to act alone, which elements in a work environment enable or even encourage risky behavior, and who should be held accountable when such scandals occur. Interestingly, this case highlights a story that is not unique. Prior to Kerviel’s transgressions were the similar scandals of Nick Leeson at Barings Bank and Toshihide Iguchi at Daiwa Bank, yet history has repeated itself. This case gives students a vivid example of the dangers of internal, self-inflicted risk on organizations, and it opens a discussion on how to avoid it.

After completing this case, students will be able to:

• Identify shortcomings in a firm’s risk management practices (i.e., processes, systems, structures)

• Evaluate the role and interests of governments as well as peer firms in overseeing healthy risk management practices in an industry

• Understand the dangers of self-inflicted risk and consider the elements in an organization (e.g., leadership, compensation structure, incentives, recruiting) that impact its risk environment

Identify shortcomings in a firm’s risk management practices (i.e., processes, systems, structures)

Evaluate the role and interests of governments as well as peer firms in overseeing healthy risk management practices in an industry

Understand the dangers of self-inflicted risk and consider the elements in an organization (e.g., leadership, compensation structure, incentives, recruiting) that impact its risk environment